LOS ANGELES — Professor David K. Yoo, director of UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center, announced that the endowed chair and professorship of the Asian American Studies Center has been renamed The George and Sakaye Aratani Professor of the Japanese American Incarceration, Redress and Community. “After considerable consultation, Dr. Lane Hirabayashi, who is the current holder […]
Safekeeping ‘treasures’ and their stories for future generations
March 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment
“You can’t take it with you but you can leave it behind with meaning and purpose,” Rosalyn Tonai told a room of more than a dozen people gathered for the “Treasures Revealed” workshop on preserving artifacts from previous generations for the future. The event, held at the Japanese American Citizens League’s (JACL) national headquarters […]
Henry Sugimoto exhibition on wartime incarceration opens in Yokohama
February 10, 2011 by 1 Comment
YOKOHAMA, Japan — Many Japanese people learn in school that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 8, 1941 (Dec. 7 in the United States). But not so many know what happened to Japanese Americans on Feb. 19, 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. They are starting to find out, however, […]
Manzanar Historic Site introduces wartime mess hall
January 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment
INDEPENDENCE, Calif. — The Manzanar National Historic Site has built a mess hall where visitors can gain a glimpse of camp life for the more than 10,000 persons of Japanese descent who were incarcerated in the concentration camp during World War II. The mess hall is the first building completed as part of a “Demonstration […]
RABBIT RAMBLINGS: Kiyoshi Okamoto, an unsung hero of the camp resistance movement
January 20, 2011 by 1 Comment
It was a solemn and moving ceremony in a Buddhist church last month, the funeral for Frank Emi. At 94, his time had come, and so a steadfast American patriot was honored and put to rest at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles. When the light that was Frank’s spirit — which had burned so steadily […]
Japanese American Museum of San Jose celebrates grand opening
November 4, 2010 by Leave a Comment
SAN JOSE — The grand opening ceremony of the newly renovated Japanese American Museum of San Jose at 535 N. Fifth St. on Oct. 16 drew an enthusiastic crowd of 800 people to the cream-colored farmhouse-style building. The ceremony also marked the 88th birthday of Jimi Yamaichi, who is unofficially known as the “Mayor of […]
The Power of Words resolution, three months later
October 28, 2010 by 2 Comments
It has been over three months since the National Council of the JACL passed the Power of Words (POW) resolution at the July 2010 National Convention in Chicago. It was amazing to have 80 chapters voting for the resolution with only two chapters voting against. As a devoted proponent of the proposal from its inception […]
LETTERS: Kudos for coverage of Topaz pilgrimage
October 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment
I am a subscriber and a member of the Board of Directors of the Topaz Museum. The articles by Martha Nakagawa were terrific. The coverage given to Topaz is much appreciated. This is especially beneficial to the museum because most of the internees were from the Bay Area, while we are 700 miles away in […]
CA Civil Liberties Public Education Program targets Nikkei World War II stories
October 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment
SACRAMENTO — The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP), a state-funded program administered by the California State Library, announced that funding for gathering first-person Japanese American World War II interment accounts will be given first priority in their upcoming grant cycle. The CCLPEP stressed that these accounts have to be gathered before they are […]
Remembering Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee leader Frank Emi
Frank Seishi Emi was a fighter. The word “retreat” was not in Frank’s vocabulary. He, and he alone, would decide when it was time to move on. Sadly, that time has arrived. Frank’s battle began in 1943 in the Heart Mountain concentration camp when the so-called “loyalty questionnaire” was circulated, ostensibly to help the government […]